Parrots in the garden

[clairelb]

We woke this morning hearing a very strange bird noise, only to find a beautiful parrot in the trees in our garden. I reported it to the RSPCA who said unless I am able to catch it, there's nothing they can do. With the storms etc it all went quiet, but the noise started up again and it's reappeared and hubby reckons he saw two more.

Is there anything else we can do? Should we put food out for it/them? Anywhere else we should report it to - the vets are all closed now.

Thanks

[File Cutter]

If you live in the south east of England it is probably a ring necked parakeet (light green with a black ring around the neck) - there are thousands of these living wild now, mostly in South London.

[saxy_jag]

Sounds like they've escaped from somewhere.

Don't expect the RSPCA to do anything. They're useless unless the BBC are around. You might just want to inform the local police, in case they've had a missing parrot report from anyone.

Yes, put food down for them. Try to catch them if you can, but be very careful. They're powerful birds, especially when they're frightened, which they undoubtedly will be. The larger breeds are capable of breaking your fingers.

Beyond that, there's very little you can do, I'm afraid, heartbreaking as it may be.

[kita1]

Don't know where you are in the country, but do you have any bird centres or zoos nearby?

I live approx. 10 miles from a zoo and they used to have a number of parrots flying free and we often used to see them flying over the house. I live in Cumbria and I believe that they used to go as far as Yorkshire. They nearly always returned at night to the zoo for food, unless someone started to feed them. A while ago two went missing and the owner was appealing for information on them, then one came back but its mate still remains missing. It is thought that someone caught them.

If you manage to catch them they will probably be microchipped or ringed. But I would wear gauntlets or very thick gloves if you try, they have long talons and their beaks are very strong (I picked a cockatiel up last year and learnt my lesson, it drew blood!).

Hopefully they will return home in time, maybe they have been disorientated by the storms, which is why I suggest trying zoo's or nearby bird centres.

Meanwhile enjoy them! They are a beautiful sight flying free and make a change from the usual birds.

[clairelb]

Thanks for your prompt replies. I am in Nottingham and as far as I know there aren't any sancturaries or zoos nearby. They've been here since early this morning so they've survived the storms. Just tried another pet finder group who were also particularly uninterested. Very sad.

In the meantime I'll get putting some fruit out.

[B00]

Sadly it's another case of the RSPCA being about as useful as a chocolate teapot!

[WendyS]

As File Cutter has said, if you saw three of them they could well be the wild parakeets which have migrated north from the South of England. We live in Bucks and often see varied sized flocks of them flying around. They do indeed have a very unusual cry which is quite different from any native British bird. They occasionally visit our garden and eat the nuts in our peanut cage but as they seem to live and feed mostly in the trees I'm not sure whether they would actually come down to the ground to feed. You could try putting down sunflower seeds which they will definitely eat. They're very handsome looking birds.

[earthakitten]

It does make you wonder what on earth the RSPCA actually do. I for one do not donate to them anymore. I wouldn't like to think any donation of mine would be used for expensive adverts or posh city headquarters. Has anyone got a good word for them or received any constructive help lately ?
Good luck clairelb xx

[allotment10]

i agree with you earthakitten, there's been many a time i've had to report or get in touch with the rspca & must admit they've been no use at all, the worst one was a fox cub on my allotment with a smashed up back leg and side (obviously been hit by a car & dragged himself under my hedges) rspca told me to inform the local wildlife centre, which i did & they were just as bad! didn't want to know & told me it would proberly die anyway! so now i don't give anything at all for the rspca or the wildlife trust, makes me wonder what exactly they are supposed to do with the money they get?.

[allotment10]

ps: me & hubby kept putting food & water down till he was strong enough to venture back out, and even though his back leg is still lame cheeky thing comes back now & again for a free dinner!

[earthakitten]

What a great outcome allotment10
Have just heard 'our' foxes calling for their dinner so I'm away now. I hope my sister remembers the 10p loaves at tesco tomorrow. This saves me loads as they love bread !
I wonder why the birds seem to prefer white to brown. I would have thought it would be the other way round.
ps Foxes love bird nuts, have you tried them yet ? xx

[allotment10]

my foxes eat everything! including nuts, the birds are the same, white or brown , in fact anything i take up there gets demolished very quickly! x

[Eastender]

Hi Claire can you tell me what colour the bird is? only a friend of mine lost hers, her husband was cleaning the cage and it flew out we live in essex. I will get back to you to see what markings her parrot had? ta

[Eastender]

Just been in touch with her and its a long shot I knew, her one is Green and Orange Belly with a Black Head. Its called a Sengal. ta

[clairelb]

Once again, many thanks for your replies.

Sadly no sign of any parrot today. I only hope they went back home and didn't encounter their fate in the night.

Eastender - There were 3 possibly 4 parrots in total. The one(s) I saw were beautiful red with blue wings. I can't be sure of the size because my first sighting, I was sure it was a very large bird, however on subsequent sightings it was about the size of a large pigeon. (Hence me not knowing if I in fact spotted more than one). My husband then saw two green birds with yellow on the wing. Their colourings also make me doubt they had migrated up from the South East.
As I said, I did report this to the RSPCA who at least put the details on their database and I agreed to be a contact for anyone who had lost a similar parrot which is more than could be said for the other organisation I contacted. Has your friend contacted them?

Allotment10 - That's a nice story. I'd certainly be feeding the fox still (I have a suspicion that the ones who live behind our garden may have eaten all the fruit I put out.)

Once again. Thanks for your replies.